On March 10, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held an online meeting in Geneva with the EU ambassadors to the UN. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called on the EU countries to create a UN mechanism to investigate the human rights violations, torture, and ill-treatment of peaceful protesters in Belarus. She also expressed hope that the EU countries will support the resolution on Belarus, which is planned to be adopted at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The leader of democratic Belarus said that Lukashenka’s regime continues political repressions. She called for assistance to the Belarusian independent media and civil society. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya urged to adopt the fourth package of the EU sanctions in March. She suggested that the sanctions list should include the Belarusian judges especially involved in political repressions: for instance, 10 years in prison were given to Minsk resident Aliaksandr Trotsky and 2 years – to Maksim Pauliushchyk and Uladzislau Hulis for the “We will not forget” graffiti. Tsikhanouskaya also highlighted that the EU should publish the details of the Comprehensive plan of support for Belarus.
“I have called before and will call again for an independent, fair, and transparent international investigation of serious human rights violations in Belarus. The established mechanism should receive a broad mandate and support from the UN. The time has come for real action. The international community must call for all those responsible for the crimes to be held accountable,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaia said. She stressed that this can be done within the framework of universal criminal jurisdiction.
During the online meeting, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya addressed the ambassadors, calling on international organizations – the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the European Union – to join to resolve the crisis in Belarus as well as to facilitate the start of a dialogue with the representatives of Lukashenka's regime.
